The present invention relates to a computer simulator and, more particularly, to a multi-mode simulator for use in education.
In the field of education, methods of teaching and learning are continually evolving. Standard education methods presently include classroom lectures--both live and recorded--textbooks, visual aids and even computer aided systems. The latter allows a student to interact with a computer system.
Classroom education is often specific and personal, but must be limited to the number of students that a classroom can accommodate. All students are forced to learn at the pace of the class as a whole. Computer based education, on the other hand, is self-paced and readily available to any number of students. If the course is well conceived, it too can be specific and can simulate the subject matter of the course.
Whether education is performed by standard classroom instruction or through online computer courses, the time required to create the course can be substantial with respect to the time required for an individual student to take that course.
Computer systems that allow users to follow a pre-programmed method of education are known in the prior art. Unfortunately, computer based education has heretofore been difficult to create, often simulating incorrectly and incapable of varying its content depending on the student audience.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,321 issued to Adams discloses a computer aided educational system in which student responses change the material that is presented. Thus, depending upon the student's answers to particular questions or decision points, the programmed lesson can vary.
A computer program written by Lakhani et al titled "Computer-Aided Learning" forms the basis of a medical instruction system which is interactive and tutorial in nature. The software package allows medical lecturers to create their own interactive lessons, including color and graphics. The program creates and summarizes grades as students operate the system.
A computer program written by Atkins et al titled "The Cardiff Cache System" is a general purpose computer adided instruction package. It can be used to generate education about a CP/M host system. The system monitors a user's interaction with the system transparently to the user and is used exclusively in a tutorial mode.
A computer program written by Bevan et al titled "Design and Evaluation of the Microtext Authoring System for Computer-Based Training" allows an author to switch between student mode and author mode to run an education program under a frame-structured authoring language.
There has been a need to train students in the operation of equipment and testing apparatus. It has been found that by allowing the student to have a record of his operations performed in the course of learning, these operations can then be used later as reference material which can aid him in the operation of equipment.
No system in the prior art is capable of switching between tutorial and reference modes of operation. In fact, much of the prior art does not show a reference capability at all, much less a switching capability for use therewith.
It would be advantageous to provide a system for allowing a student to control not only his own pace, but also his very style of learning.
It would also be advantageous to provide a system of computer aided education that is task oriented.
It would further be advantageous to provide a system for allowing a user to reference parts of the educational system, once he has used the system in a tutorial mode.
It would also be advantageous to provide a system whereby a user could switch between tutorial and reference modes of operation at will.
It would further be advantageous to provide a system for creating simulations based on data that is supplied by means of visual or instructional storage.
It would also be advantageous to provide a recording mechanism by which images from a computer screen can be captured and used or referenced later.